The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-13
IN THE WILDS OF INDIANA.
Some of the Strange Sights That May Be
Seen in the Harrison County Region.
Wonderful Springs and Freaks of the Earths
Formation-Gen. William Henry Harri-
sons Old Home-Indian Flint Mines.

''There e much In Harrison county TO attracl
The notice OF the scientific and the curious" SAID
Professor Collect to Journal reporter, continu-
Ing conversation interrupted week ago. "A
good turnpike owned by Judge Lewis Jordan, OF
this city. and Colonel Gresham, of that county,
leads down from New Albany to Corydon, the
seat of Harrison county. The whole trip is or
the highest interest to the geologist AT Ne"
Albany the Genisee shale, or black slate OF the
Devonian age forty feet thick, forms the bottom
of the Ohio river. This black slate is largely
composed of bituminous matter. and has thin
parings of pure asphalt from onefourth to one
half an inch in thickness in Indiana. Exposed
to heat it will blaze and seemingly burn, but
the residual ash retains the size and space of the
residual shale Bores piercing this at consider
able depths give out gas and oil in different parts
of Harrison and Crawford counties. West of
the city Of New Albany and in the surrounding
regions to the north are the knobstone shales.
Ages of rain and frost have removed portions of
this formation ont from the water divide leav-
ing the knobs as sharply conical haystack, |
and towering four five hundred feet the thick |
cess of the strata, above the river, and from
.wo to four hundred feet above the intermediate
valleys Dipping rapidly to the west these
rocks soon paes beneath the surface of the Ohio
river and the surrounding country, and the keo-
kuk limestone is at Edwardsvilfe. six miles
west ot New Albany where some of the most in
terestinc fossils of that group are found.
Thence the road to Corydou passes over a
cherry limestone of the St. Louis group. The
soil of the high ridges is reddish from containing
alarge percentage of iron. Some of the fields
long exposed to the rain fall and the weather
contain magnificent cabinets of the most delicate
and well-preserved fossils Of that group. The
cherry plain, locally known as the Barrens, is
from l25 to lao feet above the level of streams
such as Indian creek at Corydon. These bar
rens constitute great plain, of which the red
tinge Of the clay and stone has sometimes been
attributed to fire. But this theory is mistaken
one. the barrens constitute a plain reaching
from northwest to southeast through the coun
ty twelve to seventeen miles wide, with grad
ual slope to the southeast through which once
passed grea. flow of preglacial water, river
which drained central Indiana. passing over the
present bed Of the Ohio and through Nolin creek
and Green river of Kentucky to its discharge.
Countless ages of elemental action dissolved the
carbonate Of lime Of the st. Louis group, leav-
lng the cherts. quartzes and quartzite material
.
"Vincennes was the first capital of the Terri
tory of Indiana; Corydon was the second terrific
rial capi al and the first capital of the State.
Althous.. aged, it is a beautiful little town.
Near Corydon we'll was bored, which, at 700
feet, gave brine of considerable strength, but
flow of whta sulphur water partially DESTROYED
the salt and gave medicinal water of higher
value than a salt well. 1t is visited by the sick
from all the neighboring region. and its efficacy
j. ss we'll attested. The Blue Spring. near town,
according to tradition, has unreasonable
depth, but actual test shows that bottom can be
found at less than fifty feet The water is cool
pure and sufficient in quantity to supply..a small
city. The wells in Corydon furnish a good sup
DIV of water. They are generally OF cavern
origin, aud many of them furnish eyeless fishes
and other eyeless things. Pilot Knob, south of
the town, is 200 feet above Corydon. The name
of "Barrens" was given from the fact that when
first visited by white men there were trees on
such areas as had been swept by autumnal fires,
and they only offered a wild growth of weeds.
prairie grass and low brush Since the fires
have been prevented by settlements, fifty years
or moro ago, forest has sprung up in the place
of the prairie grass. The young trees from
twelve TO eighteen inches in diameter
''In the western part of the county are heavy
beds of limestone and sandstone of the Chester
group These are OVERLAND by the massive sand
stone congiomerate division of the coal measures.
AT keller's bill interesting fossils OF both these
groups found, the coal measure fossils in
GLIDING great trunks of lepidodendron trees,
from two to two and half feet IN diameter.
strangely strangulated and short and stumpy,
as If OF such weak or herbaceous growth AS to for
bid tall, erect stature. Well-preserved speci
mems of stgmaria. with ferns and fruit-like
seeds of coal-measure plants, are also in
this stony herbarium Borden's is vel
worth visiting. 1t contains four rooms some
with domes Fifty feet high, presenting many
etalacttes and stalagmites Of great beauty
Between the second and third rooms is a shelly
ing rock In a space of twenty-five by ten feet
there are many thousand stalactites, from al
inch to two feet long and from a quarter Of ar
inch to two inches thick The fourth room is OF
the second floor ana contains huge Stalagmite
"Rhodesis cave. on the road from Corydon tC
Harrison's valley. has its entrance, almost like ,
well, in a corn-fed The aperture is eight by
fallen rocks leads by passage
way seven to ten feet high, t,
20 q small lake ninety three feet below the sur
face. The lake is fed by permanent springs, AM
Is constant to size. 1t is reputed to have
measured depth of forty feet. A small
spring dropping over the limestone walls firing
es the south side with clusters and sheaves of sta
lactites and falls into basin shaped stalagmite
The Lake contains many eyeess fishes and craw
fishes. Swarnls of bats resort to the cave ran gin
themselves. in the summer months, IN fam
circles of six OF eight In winter they hibernate
here hanging by their feet to the roof il
clusters Of thousands
THE Blue Spouter' is a geyser-lika spring i
Walnut valley. aquarter of mile east of Blu
river. A circular hole filled and overfowin
with clear blue water gives discharges to III
great cavernous regions about During an
after rain or wet term, the water rushes on
with violence. filling the valley with its roar
The water sometimes spouts up four or five fee
above the basin In a column four or Eve feet i
diameter silvered with foam and carrying on
6sh peculiar to the oren streams of that region
Indicating that some or them had come grea
distance.
Harrison valley is arich, sunken area owne
by General William Henry Harrison when Gov
ernor of Indiana Territory. Every piece of Ian
berea5outs calls up historic "reminiscences of il
original owner One part is known as the Gov